I may be an expatriate St. Louisan, but I'm a Cardinal Fan Forever. Mostly, I write haiku recaps of every game. Occasionally, I write longer stuff with pictures.

Return to Soup’s Grill

Last week, I ventured back to Soup’s Grill. One of my Cardinals ‘net friends, Sandi, was visiting from Jefferson City, MO and it was our first chance to meet in the non-virtual world. We were accompanied by our friend Emma, who writes the excellent blog Crzblue’s Dodger World here on this fine site.

We had a really fun day together. We went up to Santa Barbara and checked out the Mission, had a awesome seafood lunch at Santa Barbara Shellfish Company, and tried the wines at Kalyra. I’m a big fan of Kalyra’s winery in Santa Ynez (even before Sideways made it famous ;) but this was my first visit to their Santa Barbara tasting room. It’s reminiscent of the Enchanted Tiki Room. I love the Kalyra vibe and the wine. We also took Sandi to Trader Joe’s as she had never experienced one. Sounds like they need to add more stores in MO!

Our day trip ended with dinner at Soup’s Grill. We didn’t really expect to see owner Jeff Suppan, so it was a pleasant surprise when I went to the bathroom and noticed him eating in the dugout booth with his wife and baby daughter. Sandi approached him politely, and he was very excited to meet a Cardinal fan from MO. Jeff proceeded to give Sandi a tour of the memorabilia in the restaurant and posed for pics with us. He even seemed to remember us from our last visit which was like 3 years ago and told a story about how he had autographed a menu for Emma but she had asked him to sign another one because the autograph was sloppy. I think he was kidding as Emma had no memory of this, and neither did I.

I’m really impressed with how generous Jeff is with his time. We apologized for taking him away from his dinner, but he didn’t seem bothered in the least and was excited to show off new additions to the restaurant. He even gave us autographed trading cards he’d had made up to promote the restaurant!

The food at Soup’s Grill is pretty much standard sports bar fare, but it’s really well-executed. The philly cheesesteak is one of their specialities, and it’s really good. I can’t think of a better one I’ve had outside of Philly. We also enjoyed the house-made tortilla chips that are Cardinal red, and the spicy salsa.

It’s a great place to watch games, and I’d definitely go more if I lived in the Valley. Happy hour specials are great, and Wednesdays are 35 cent wing night. Any baseball fan would love seeing all the memorabilia. One of my favorites is this signed pic of Jim Edmonds making a spectacular catch. Jim wrote on the pic: “Don’t hang this in the back somewhere. It’s probably my best ever.” So for fun, Jeff hung it in a back stairway.

Thank you, Jeff, for the hospitality. I would love to see you back in a Cardinal uniform, but until then, I’m glad to know I can find you at Soup’s Grill.

Also, congrats to my friend Emma for coming in at #25 on the top fan blogs of the season. Cardinal Girl came in at #52 – the reverse!

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5 Comments

2011 is going to be the year, Cardinal Girl. 162 Haikus. We are counting on you! :) And I’m pretty sure that Edmonds’ picture was indeed his best catch ever. It was from the 2004 NLCS Game #7. I was in the 6th row bleachers just a little to the left! Will never forget it. Looking forward to visiting with you again back on Missouri soil! Need to take you to the Negro Leagues Museum in K.C. and a Cards/Royals game in the new and improved Kauffman Stadium. Thanks for sharing such a fantastic day in SoCal with me and Crzblue! And I highly recommend the Fielder’s Salad at Soup’s Grill. Have not had a more delicious salad in I don’t know how long.

Julie,
Wonderful post!
That was nice reliving our day in Santa Barbara and Woodland Hills. I saw the picture Sandi posted on FB from T.J. (Trader Joes) and just had to laugh remembering it. that was a fun day!
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I think Jeff was just teasing me. I think what I did that day (was really three years ago?) is I gave it back to him so he could write what Sandi wanted him to write there.
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I still got my wine from SB. When I open it I’ll do a toast to you and Sandi!
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Looking forward to more posts from you! Don’t forget you still need a visit to the San Antonio Winery. Is very close to Dodger Stadium
Thank you!
Emmahttp://crzblue.mlblogs.com

Wow! meeting with cyber friends over a nice meal is fantastic, but meeting a true baseball icon and lover of food like Jeff Suppan…..magical and spiced just right.
Sounds like an amazing night out with the girls(ladies) and I am glad we can share in the adventure.

@Sandi, I hope it is the year for 162 haikus – please keep cheerleading!
@Emma, I saw some chocolate wine at a gourmet market in culver city this weekend but it was not from that winery. Who knew there could be two? Anyway, I definitely want to go there and try it
@RaysRenegade – indeed it was a classic girls night out!

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